Story by: thumbekil
Author of:
"One Night By The Door",
"One Of A Kind Of Proposal",
"2am In Santorini",
"Warmer Now",
"Walk with me"
You can find all these stories and more in her One Shot collection book: "Whirlwind"
Title of the story: "Say You Do"
Song: "Rock With You" by Seventeen
"i just want to love you
alone, i don't want to leave you
i just want you, i need you
the night is short,can't take you for granted..."
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(7 January 2026)
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"i'm late i'm late i'm late! omg where did i put my keys!"
she spotted the damn object on the top of her kitchen counter and exhaled a sigh. FINALLY. WE CAN GET OUT OF THE HOUSE NOW!
shen yue was about to run out the front door when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the full length mirror in her foyer. she knew she shouldn't (oh so late already!) but she stopped and examined what she's wearing anyway. a chunky beige off the shoulder knitted sweater with black wool leggings and dark boots, topped with a white beanie and her grey checkered long coat. is it too casual? should she change into a knit dress instead? it's so cold out, she had wanted to be warm. but it WAS a date, after all. maybe the other party would be dressed to nines and ...
she shook her head and reprimanded herself loudly, "FORGET IT, SHEN YUE. YOU ARE LATE AS IT IS. IT'S NOT LIKE YOU ARE GONNA SEE THIS GUY AGAIN ANYWAY. YOU'RE ONLY DOING THIS AS A FAVOUR."
she ran out the door and got in her car, all the while crossing her fingers that she wouldn't be so late as to leave a bad first impression.
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her manager dropped her off at the curb and shen yue walked as fast as her legs could carry to the restaurant. she checked the time and sighed in relief. good, she's probably only gonna be 15 minutes late. she slowed her steps when she saw the restaurant sign in the distance. but as she tried to catch her breath, a familiar silhouette stopped her dead in her tracks. is that? could it be? no way. they wouldn't! WOULD THEY?
the man was standing against the wall right under the restaurant sign. his baseball cap cast a shadow against his face but she would recognize that slightly crooked stance and the tilt of the head anywhere. (not to mention that sharp nose and slightly pouty lips). but still, she hadn't seen him in a few years, perhaps he had changed his habits. shaking off her ridiculous thoughts, she started walking towards the restaurant again, slower and quieter this time.
as if he could hear her thoughts, the shadowed face turned towards her and her heart skipped a beat. it IS him. what the hell. they set her up on a blind date with WANG HEDI?!?!
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(two weeks prior)
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''you want me to what?!''
shen yue whips her head up from the script she's been reading and was immediately reprimanded by the stylist currently working on her hair, ''please stay still, miss yue.''
in the mirror, her good friend, wu yuheng was grinning and nodding in playfully, ''yes, miss yueyue. please stay calm and just say yes.''
she made a face and stared yuheng down through the mirror, ''NO. i wont do it. you're crazy. why would i go on a date with your friend?!''
''miss yue, please don't scrunch up your face too much. you're gonna crack the base make up. and we'd have to go back and do some touch ups," came another remark from her lovely stylist.
yuheng's reflection was grinning even wider now and pointing in mock reprimand while mouthing, ''stay still!''
which of course made shen yue want to scrunch up and make a face at him even more. so instead, she settled into making a crude gesture with her fingers and whip it behind her head at the person she normally adores but was currently annoying her way too much.
yuheng gasped in exaggerated theatrics as he placed his hands on his chest ,'' oh yueyue, thats so unbecoming of such a nice girl like you!'' and before she could retort back, he threw his hands up in the air as if in despair and added,'' come on, yue. just say yes. you owe me. just go on this one date and absolve me of my misery.''
shen yue was halfway into knitting her eyebrows into a frown when she noticed her stylist watching and quickly schooled her face into a neutral expression. glaring at her friend, still through the mirror, she asked, '' OWE you? me? for what? and why should i absolve you of your misery when you miserable doesn't bother me one bit." she added a nonchalant shrug for effect.
yuheng grimaced. ''ouch! how mean! you dont mean that, yueyue. you are kind and lovely and sweet and could never stand seeing anyone miserable let alone your best friend, me.''
she scoffed, ''cut the theatrics, yuheng. and answer the question, what do you mean by i owe you!''
yuheng simply stared at her with eyes all lit up in glee and a devilish smile. shen yue had a bad feeling about that. yuheng only look like that when he had an ace up his sleeve and was about to get his way completely.
''you really don't remember? okay, i'll refresh your memory. remember that time a fu er dai heir was pursuing you? he would not take no for an answer and in desperation, you lied to him that you already had a boyfriend but he still wouldn't back down so in the end I, the benevolent wu yuheng had to pretend to be said boyfriend for a while? got us into entertainment headlines a couple times too. and almost got me kicked out of my agency. remember that, my precious yueyue? and remember when you begged me to do it and said you'd do ANYTHING if i would just help you out that one time? ''
at the long explanation, yue's jaw slackened into a silent ''ooooh'' and understanding dawned on her face. she remembered now. and she did say all those things. if she hadn't remembered about the stylist watching her like a hawk, her face would have crumpled into a defeated cringe that very moment.
''of course i would have helped you out without any promise of a favour because i'm a kind and caring friend, myself. but you offered, i wasn't gonna say no, now was i? and now the time has come to collect!'' he sweeped a hand into clenched fist in front of his face triumphantly.
shen yue narrowed her eyes at the increasing theatrics her, now not so good friend, was displaying and shook her head almost imperceptibly. ''FINE ... you can stop now, yuheng. ... i said, FINE I'LL DO IT.''
the guy snapped his fingers and nodded solemnly, '' i KNEW you would make the right decision, mi lady,'' he grinned victoriously. ''all right. i'll wechat you when and where, okay.''
''wait, you're not gonna tell me who it is? and what if i'm busy?''
yuheng shrugged, ''i have my way around your schedule--'
''what?''
''-- and it's someone nice. i would NEVER send you on a date with a jerk. come on, yueyue. what do you take me for?''
''no, but what if he's --
'' ugly? don't worry, he's ... well, some will even say he's hot. and again, would i ever introduce someone ugly to you?''
''that's not what i was gonna say, yuheng!''
''stop worrying, okay. he's a catch. you'd love him. just wait for my message! i have to go now, good luck with the shoot, love. jia you!''
''wait. you're leaving? i thought you said you're gonna wait for me to get off work and we'll hang out''
he tilted his head and shrugged lightly, ''i lied.''
shen yue's jaw dropped and she stared into the mirror in disbelief as yuheng walked closer and put his hands on her shoulder, gingerly dropping a peck on the top of her head. then he turned and walked out of her dressing room, busy typing something on his phone. notifying his victory to his accomplices probably, she cynically thought. this could not have been a one man job. her close friends had been trying to set her up on dates for years!
she was still staring slack jawed at the the mirror when her manager walked in, ''did yuheng left? i thought you guys are gonna hang out after this? yue, are you okay? why do you look so dazed?''
yueyue blinked and snapped herself out of her stupor. she couldn't believe one of her best friends just tricked her into a blind date. what the fa? she should've known that something was up when he showed up unannounced at this pictorial shoot bearing gifts for her and her staff, proclaiming how much he'd missed her.
she could feel the indignation and annoyance bubbling inside her and she gripped the edges of her seat, trying to keep those emotions at bay. just you wait, wu yuheng. i'm so gonna get you back for this.
she took a deep breath and flatly replied her manager, ''yeah, he left. and i'm fine. are we almost ready to start?''
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(back at the date)
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shen yue had her forearms on the table, fingers twined. her curious eyes were following dylan's every move. he was fidgeting. in the five minutes they'd been seated at this table in this spacious private room, his hands hadn't stop moving. one of them was in his hair earlier, while he tapped the tables with the fingers of the other. then he rubbed his ear and adjusted his collar. all the while, his eyes were steadfastly avoiding hers. a few times he had tried to steal a glance at her face but he averted his glance as soon as he discovered she was watching him like a hawk.
finally, dylan cleared his throat. "so."
still staring at him, she replied, "so."
"it's been a while."
she raised her eyebrows, "indeed it has been."
"how have you been, yue?"
she frowned. they had exchanged this exact awkward greeting at the restaurant entrance earlier. what was happening? this wasn't the dylan wang she remembered. he used to be loud, confident and full of witty comebacks. sure, it had been a long while, but surely he wouldn't have changed this much?
she couldn't take it anymore and decided to hell with it. this awkwardness had to stop.
"you knew it was me."
he was taken aback a little, "excuse me?"
"this blind date, isn't so blind for you, is it?", she had had this nagging hunch when she noticed he wasn't surprised to see her at all earlier.
"erm.... no, i guess you can say that it is not." he looked a little sheepish.
she stared at him incredulously now, and a little accusingly. "you guess, or you know?"
he breathed a defeated sigh and closed his eyes as if bracing for impact. "i knew i was meeting you. "
"how?"
"i asked for the date."
"what?"
"i asked kido for a date with you."
"kido?", she frowned, '' but it was yuheng who asked me?''
"oh. well, i guess he had to ask around for favours. you're not an easy person to-"
she shook her head impatiently, "ok. never mind who asked who. WHY?"
now it's his turn to frown, "why what?"
"why did you ask for a date with me?''
he stared at her with a slightly baffled expression, ''you know why.''
she blinked in surprise,'' no, i don't?''
he narrowed his eyes, "oh come on, yue. are you for real?''
she raised her eyebrows in response.
he groaned softly, ''do i really have to say it?''
the corner of her lips were twitching a little, she was quite amused at how things were unfolding. of course she had an inkling of why he would ask for a date with her. but she was still a little annoyed at the way she got roped into this whole thing. and she didn't understand why he couldn't just contact her directly himself. they were really close friends back then and she would have been really glad to hear from him again.
''yes, i'm afraid you do, mister wang.''
he frowned again, ''mister wang?''
''stop stalling.''
he gritted his teeth, ''fine, miss shen. i asked for the date because i have crush on you. i have always had a crush on you. ''
her jaw dropped. she hadn't expected him to put it so plainly. still as blunt as ever. guess he hasn't changed that much after all.
she felt her heart start to race. and her stomach felt a little funny. am i ... feeling butterflies?
she couldn't deny it. his confession stirred old feelings and memories about their relationship that she had kept repressed for so long. she wasn't sure if she was ready to discuss them. or if she even wanted to in the first place.
let bygones be bygones she had thought for years, but here they were and now she was the one at a loss for words. she simply nodded, ''i see.''
he raised his eyebrows at her reaction, ''uh-huh ...''
and they sat back in silence. only this time, shen yue was the one avoiding dylan's eyes and she could feel his eyes on her, intensifying the funny feeling in her stomach. she looked down on her hands in her lap and take a few deep breaths.
''yueyue, are you okay?'', there was concern in his voice.
still avoiding his eyes, she nodded, ''uh-huh. i'm fine. just didn't expect that from you.''
the frown was evident when he said, ''is it? i thought it was fairly obvious? hmmm''
she closed her eyes and braced herself before looking up. she couldn't let tonight go on like this. get yourself together shen yue. this isn't five years ago. this is now. it's different. new.
she opened her eyes and blurted, ''i thought you're gay?''
he was taking a sip of water and her comment made him sprout water all over the table. he coughed, ''i'm WHAT?''
patting a napkin on his chest, he pressed the service bell, and someone came in straight away, ''are we ready to order, sir?''
shen yue realized they hadn't even opened the menu, but dylan calmly said, ''just tonight's special menu please. and whatever wine pairings your sommelier think is best. also, i accidentally spilled some water. could you please--''
''yes certainly, sir.''
with the server acting as a buffer between them, moving around, wiping and setting up the table with cutleries and wine glasses, shen yue found herself a little bit more comfortable to meet dylan's eyes. and what she saw was a glint of curiousity and amusement in them. he raised one brow at her and mouthed quietly, ' gay? me?'', index finger pointing at himself. yueyue found the corner of her mouth involuntarily curling up into a smile.
a smile that was immediately mirrored in the face of her date that night. she could see some tension seeping out of his body and he leaned back into his chair into a more relaxed pose. i cant believe i'm on a date with wang hedi. after all these years.... the universe sure has a weird sense of humour.
as soon as the server left the room, without missing a beat, dylan went, ''so i'm gay eh?,'' he said in a teasing tone. ''this, i got to hear.''
shen yue exhaled a big breath she didnt realize she had been holding and silently berated herself, cringing inwardly. of all the things, why did she had to blurt that one out?
'' i mean, the tabloids seemed to think so, '' she replied with as much sass as she could muster.
dylan whistled. ''tabloids huh? i wasn't aware you were reading those cheap gossip stuff, yueyue. but i have to say, i'm flattered, and may i say, a little happy? that you went that far just to keep tabs on my dating status.'' his swagger was back almost in full force now and shen yue couldn't decide if she liked him better like this or a little cautious and nervous like before.
ah who are we kidding, shen yue. you like him either way. you've always liked him.
but she wasnt ready to let him know. maybe i never would be. so she rolled her eyes, ''oh get over yourself, mister wang. i only repeated what some people told me. i could care less if you dated ten women or ten men at once.''
at the mention of mister wang, she saw him wince a little.
'' what's with the mister wang thing, yue? you never used to call me that before. are you still mad at me?''
the direct and unexpected question shook her. she found herself leaning away from him, as if the extra few centimeters could stop him from tearing down the walls she's put up over the years.
''what? why would i be mad at you? we haven't even seen each other in years! i was just joking around, di. sorry if it offended you.''
skeptically, he raised one eyebrow and searched her face. it took everything in her not to look away and meet his stare head on instead. slowly he nodded, '' okay. my bad. i guess i'm being too sensitive,'' he shrugged and added softly, ''i just really wanted tonight to go well.''
again with the disarming honesty. ''oh'' was all shen yue could say.
''just so we're clear, i'm not gay, okay yue?''
she chuckled, ''of course i know that, di. i know it was an april's fool joke started by your fans in response to tabloid headlines repeatedly wondering why dylan wang never dated. then the antis got hold of it and started the rumour earnestly. it was easy since paparazzi could only catch you hanging out other guys; xizi and xize, specifically. i seem to remember something about a threesome open relationship being mentioned?''
she knew she was rambling, but she couldn't help herself. he has that effect on her.
"are you sure it wasn't a love triangle?"
"well that too. but i think more antis agreed on the three-way relationship label after that trip you three took to greece and photos of you giving each other back rubs on a yacht surfaced."
he shook his head, smiling in amusement and lightly said," i think we were putting on sunscreens but eh. whatever. people like us, damned if we date, damned if we dont. right?"
"right," she voiced her agreement. but before she could continue, he smirked that sexy lopsided smirk that she'd spent years not thinking about. ''you know, yue. i was just kidding about you keeping tabs on my dating status but apparently it's the truth, eh? you even know how the rumour started."
shen yue blushed at being caught. she had thought they were bantering playfully but apparently nothing slipped by him. not back then, not at this moment. and it's not like he was wrong. she did keep an eye out for any of his dating news. more out of habit than anything else really, but still ... ah silly yueyue. why cant you control your mouth!
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but she should have known this would happen. talking to dylan had always been easy. even when she would get flustered by his practical jokes or flirtatious behaviour, she still enjoyed being around him immensely. he was a good listener, had lots of anecdotes to tell, hella funny and wiser than most people gave him credit for. there was no shortage of laughter when he was around and that was the part she had missed the most when she started to put some distance between them; laughing her ass off while simultaneously having deep talks about where life would take them, all on the same night. their conversations were spellbinding like that and together they were magic. and for a while she thought the spell would last. but it didn't. all illusions shatter in the end. she bit her lower lip at the bitter thought.
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"no didi, i told y--", she was about to lie through her teeth about being sent that gay rumour by a friend who thought it was funny, when suddenly there was a knock on the door and a few of the restaurant staff walked in with their first course and wine pairing.
shen yue breathed a sigh of relief. saved by the bell! but she knew she wouldn't be safe for long. it was obvious he came here on a mission and he wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. shen yue just didn't know what exactly that was. or if she wanted the same thing.
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shen yue stared at her soup. it was a creamy concoction in a sweet pale yellow colour with white foam framing the sides of the liquid and a few delicate flower petals were strategically placed in the middle. it looked too nice to eat.
"is there something wrong with the soup? should i call our server back in?"
dylan's voice startled her and she looked up to see he was watching her with a concerned look. she cleared her throat and shook her head, "no, it's fine. it's more than fine, actually. it's great."
he looked even more concerned now. frowning a little, "but you haven't even tried it..."
shen yue could feel her cheeks heating up. would she ever stop embarrassing herself tonight? "ah right. i meant it looked great! i'm sure it tastes great too. let's dig in, shall we?"
"yueyue ..."
"yes?"
" do you wanna leave?"
"huh? what do you mean?"
he sighed, a resigned look on his face, "you seemed uncomfortable. and i'm sorry to have gotten you here on false pretenses. I--"
"false pretenses? i came for a date, is this not a date? is there a secret event happening next i'm not aware of?" she stood up and looked around the room, "OHMYGOD ARE WE ON A REALITY SHOW? BECAUSE DYLAN, I LOVE YOU BUT I'M REALLY GONNA KILL YOU IF --''
"whoa whoa whoa. calm down, yue," dylan also stood up and approached her side of the table "we are not on any show whatsoever."
she was still examining the corners of the ceiling when he reached her. he placed his hands on her shoulders and gently squeezed. she turned her attention back to him, and he was looking at her with such earnestness and passion in his eyes that she felt like they were back to eight years ago when he was dao mingsi and she was shan cai.
"yueyue, i promise you that i would never let something so important like our first date, or our first anything for that matter, be used as some ploy to get ratings. i'm done with letting media and the industry have a say in what happens in my personal life. i just wish i could've gone to you sooner."
''wang hedi," she whispered, a little breathless.
"you love me?" he smirked.
shen yue rolled her eyes, the spell broken, "tsk. always so full of yourself."
"YOU said it just now. and besides, you love me this way,'' he winked.
she shook her head in mock despair and wiggled her shoulders out of his hold, "incorrigible as ever. that was a FIGURE OF SPEECH, di. go back to your seat, the soup is gonna be cold now," she started lowering herself back into her chair.
but before she could fully seat herself down, dylan grabbed her hand and tugged her back to standing. "forget the soup. let's get out of here."
her eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat. this felt a little too familiar. "what? no! we haven't eaten anything and there are more food coming. we cant go! what will the restaurant people say!"
he shrugged, "who cares what they think? look, i'm not suggesting we run out of our tab. of course we'll still pay. i'm not a criminal!" he looked at her indignantly.
"but it''d be such a waste! this place is expensive. the special menu must cost a fortune. and before you start bragging, i know you can afford it oh mighty wang hedi. i'm just saying i hate wasting food!" she was glaring back at him.
he was grinning fondly at her now, "fine. no need to get so worked up, miss moon. how bout we ask them to pack it up and hao ge can stay and wait for it. that won't be a waste now right?"
she tilted her head, still not completely convinced. he squeezed her hand, "come on, yue. this place is not us. it's so formal and stuffy! you can't honestly tell me you haven't felt at least a little uncomfortable since we walked in?"
she frowned. HE was the main source of her uneasiness tonight, but if she was being honest, she did think that it was a little pretentious of her date to pick such a fancy restaurant when yuheng first told her where they'd be meeting. the place WAS stuffy. and she HATED the dim ambient lighting restaurants like these had.
she closed her eyes and shook her head, "i cant believe--"
"yes! okay, let's go!" he pulled her hand and pushed the sliding door open. a server was standing next to the door on the other side was startled into attention. "may i help you sir? i apologize, we didn't hear the bell ri--"
dylan waved his hand, "no, no. everything is fine. something came up and we have to leave. can you pack the rest of our order? my manager will come by to settle the bill and pick those up in a little bit."
"yes certainly, mr. w---"
but dylan didn't even bother listening to the server's reply. he was already making his way through the restaurant's long corridor towards the exit. he was taking such long strides, shen yue was forced to jog a little to keep up with his pace. as she stared into his broad back in front of her, she smiled a little. then she looked at his hand wrapped around hers and smiled a little wider. is this really happening? this felt so much like the way they were; like not a day has passed when they were calling each other every night just to say 'hey' and talked about everything under the sun until one of them fell asleep and stopped replying.
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snow was falling lightly when finally made their ways outside the restaurant. standing side by side under the awning, she looked up at him and asked," what now?"
"are you hungry?"
"always?"
he laughed out loud at her answer. "okay. you remember that lamb skewers place we used to go to?"
her eyes lit up and widened at the mention of one of her favourite hole in the wall establishments, "they're still around?"
he looked back at her in surprise, "wait, you stopped going? but you loved their food!"
she turned away from him. the truth was she stopped going because she was afraid she'd bump into him and all the hard work she had put into creating distance between would be futile. and after they had gone into radio silence, she still didn't go because she didnt want to be reminded of him and what they had. or could have been.
but she couldn't tell him all that so she simply shrugged. "yeah well ... it's ... it's complicated ...," she said softly and trailed off.
he tugged her hand to get him to look at him again, "hey now. there's no need to mope. noone's judging you that you gave up on one of the most delicious food in the universe, okay. it's your loss, anyway."
she lifted their entwined hands and smacked him in the chest, "no need to rub it in, punk!"
"ouch! forever resorting to violence. i may have to think twice of this til death do us thing," he rubbed his chest.
"what?"
"nothing. so, youre ready?"
"ready for wh-- WANG HEDI!"
before she knew what was happening, she found herself running along with him. snow was falling harder now and her cheek felt so cold. but she was laughing as she shrieked at him and she hadn't felt such joy in so long that she really wouldn't mind if her face froze at the very moment. in fact, she wouldn't have minded if time had stopped right then and there altogether.
but time did not stop because she felt him tug on her hand, and as her body leaned closer to his, she felt him slipped their entwined hands into his jacket pocket. she glanced up at him and he winked at her with a smile so bright it could probably light up the whole of beijing.
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"fall into your eyes
every moment is pointing to you
all I ever need is you
take nothing for granted, you're all I got
won't let them break your heart, oh, no..."
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they continued running and laughing together like that for a while and when she thought her lungs was gonna burst, he skidded to a stop and she almost gave herself whiplash the way her body jerked from the sudden stop. "YA WANG HEDI. could you please give some warning before...", she trailed off when she looked up and saw that he was looking at her with eyes that spoke of utter softness and intense passion all at the same time. she wanted to look away because she knew she must look a mess: her face was flushed and there were strands of hair sticking to her lips. but try as she might, she could not find it in her to look away from those fiery eyes.
for the second time that night, it seemed like dylan could hear her thoughts because he let go of her hand and gently removed those strands off her lips one by one. she was mesmerized. when he was done, he cupped her face gently and lowered is face closer to hers. her heart thundering in her ears, she closed her eyes automatically. but instead of her lips, he kissed her forehead instead. "say yes," he murmured.
she pushed him slightly away from her and studied his face, "what did you say?"
he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and lowered his head until his forehead touched hers and repeated, a little louder this time,"say yes, shen yue."
she buried her face in his chest, heart still pounding and whispered back, "say yes to what?"
"to spending the rest of our lives together," came the whispered reply.
his answered was so unexpected, she jerked her head up in shock and knocked his nose in the process.
"OW. DAMMIT SHEN YUE YOU COULD'VE JUST SAID NO LIKE A NORMAL PERSON THERES NO NEED TO RESORT TO VIOLENCE LIKE THIS EVERY TIME--"
"OMG DIDI, IM SO SORRY I DON'T MEAN TO IT'S AN ACCIDENT WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BE SO--"
they were both shouting on top of each other when suddenly their eyes met, and they paused, then both of them started laughing uncontrollably; him with his hands covering his nose, and her with her hands clutching the front of his jacket.
he was the first to catch his breath. "never mind. i take it back."
"YA!", she was about to smack his chest again but he caught her hand.
"see, more violence. i won't survive a month with you, yue. let alone a lifetime!"
"you'll have to find out, now don't you?!"
he smirked victoriously, "are u asking me to move in with you for a month? why, lao shen. you move fast."
that earned him another smack in the chest. "stop joking around, xiao wang. can we go in now? i'm hungry."
he wrapped his hand around hers once again, lacing their fingers together this time, and turned towards the entrance of the little skewer shop. as he pushed the door open she heard him say, "who says i'm joking?"
shen yue looked down at their intertwined fingers and smiled quietly. this time will be different. this time the spell will hold. and this time, it's more than magic; it's love.
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"wherever we go
baby, hold on ... wherever we are
baby, hold on ... no matter where we are
even if the world is ending, i wanna ride with you..."
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(early december 2025)
"no, man. i cant. sorry. there's no way. it's impossible. she wont do it! when i say i'd get you anything for your birthday, i meant something i can purchase with money, di."
"why not? you haven't even asked!"
"why don't you just ask her yourself? her number or private wechat, i can get you. but a date? nah, man. she would never agree."
"that's exactly why i can't ask her directly! if even you think she wouldn't agree when u asked, then obviously she would say no before i could even finish saying hello, right?"
"that is true..., " kido frowned. "what exactly happened between you two, man? you were inseparable for months and suddenly, boom. it's like cold war erupted...and then you dated that girl and she dated that costar of hers ... "
dylan sighed, "it's complicated."
"yeah well, seems like it's STILL complicated. so just give it up, di."
"NO. this time it will be different. i was too new back then and i couldn't protect her..." dylan trailed off, leaned his head back on the sofa and stared at the ceiling.
"protect her from what?"
"everything, man. the antis. MY fans. my company. HER company. you know how it is in our industry. idols mustn't date."
"huh? but i dated. YOU dated. well, very rarely i admit, but you did."
dylan raked his hair in frustration ," thats why it was so maddening. i didn't get why i couldn't date HER. they said she wasn't the right fit for my image. WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"
of course over time dylan knew what they had meant. and it was a bitter pill to swallow because it seemed like they were all right. but it wasn't like he had a chance to prove them wrong, anyway. she had began to gradually create distance between them and he knew how difficult it must have been for her to come to that decision, so he respected her wish and never bothered her unless it was work related. which unfortunately for him, almost never happened.
kido threw himself on the sofa next to dylan, "so what's different now?"
"im not powerless anymore. my name carries more weight in the biz now. i can and i will protect her. shit, i'd quit the industry if i have to."
"damn, didi. you'd go that far?"
"you don't understand. i'd do anything for her. the past six years have felt way too long. im done waiting. this time, i'm not gonna give up until she says yes. at least for that first date."
"what other yeses do you have in mind, you perv?!"
dylan pushed kido away, "none of your goddamn business. just help me get that date, man."
kido studied dylan's face and exhaled a big sigh. "okay. fine. i don't want you to stress yourself to death over this so i'll see what i can do. i might have a way."
dylan threw a pillow at kido's face, "if you have a way why didn't you just say so since the beginning, you perv! "
"hey, that's no way to treat someone who's about to get you the best birthday present of your life." kido threw the pillow back at dylan. "you better name your first child after me!
.
.
.
.
"i'm running for you
do anything for you
just you 'til my last breath
no words are enough for you
...
anywhere
...
even if the world is ending
...
i wanna stay with you"
____________________________________
author's notes:
everybody say "thank you, kido" ! 🤣🤣
all jokes aside... FINALLY! oh my god! i did it! i wrote the rest of this fic and actually finished it!
if any of you have followed me on twitter or read my scrapbook of sorts "what's up diyue" here on wattpad, you would recognize the opening of this fic (it is the chapter titled "blind date"). it was written back in july of 2019 and despite having a clear background story for it all, every attempt i have made to continue it has been fruitless. i just cant seem to make it work. and then this collaboration book came along and to be very honest, i had finished writing one fic and worked on another for weeks. i didn't like the first fic and that later fic just couldn't seem to come together, so as a last ditch effort i dug this premise up, and worked on it like a mad woman for two full days (i even called in sick from work! >.<' ) hence, as usual, apologies for the typos or grammatical mistakes or whatever other issue you may have with it.
i dont always love my fics but i quite like this one a lot. especially in the way that it ended up being so, SO very different from how i had envisioned it more than two years ago (or from one day ago actually ^^' ) . the song i originally wanted to incorporate for this fic was 'only us' from "dear evan hansen, but the fic took such turn in that it became much more light-hearted and less angsty than what had been in my head for years. (this seems to be the m.o. for most of my fics: they take a life of their own and i'm just the typist.)
the tl;dr version: i like this fic; had fun writing it. and i hope you like it too. or at the very least it made you smile, even if just a little. ^^
oh and maybe i should mention that in my head, this diyue or this blind date was always going to be the beginnings of the diyue in "one of a kind proposal", a story you can find in my completed one shot collection "whirlwind". so if you want to spend more time with this particular version of didi and yueyue, you can check that fic out.
i wouldn't have agreed, let alone manage to survive the process of writing for this project without the support, kindness and insane talent of lunarilee. all in all, she made FIVE different cover for my stories because i kept changing my mind about which fic i was gonna submit (sorry and thanks again, luna! >.<)
and even though, this fic wasnt what @bpinksooo brainstormed with me, i still would have never wrote my first diyue fic without her so always and forever, thank you, artiebub!
and lastly, Meggyhashope, when i first posted this, you asked for more and i said i'd see what i can do and so here it is. i apologize for the long wait. i hope it's worth it.
thank you to Myhappyending95 for inviting me to join this project. i didn't expect anyone to still remember about my fics (i can't believe it has been more than 2 years!) and it is quite an honour to be invited along with so many other lovely writers. thank you for being so patient and kind throughout the process, too!
for everyone who is reading this, THANK YOU. i hope you all are healthy and happy. stay safe and be well. love, always.